El Paso first, SPC second at NMJC CC Open

(Courtesy of SPC Sports Information)

HOBBS, N.M. – The NJCAA third-ranked South Plains College cross country team scored 26 points Saturday at the New Mexico JC Cross Country Open held at Harry McAdams Park in Hobbs, edging conference foe and sixth-ranked El Paso in the process while the third-ranked Lady Texans were nicked in the team standings by the No. 5-ranked El Paso women to finish second with 39 points.
South Plains' Antibahs Kibiwott came out on the winning end of a three-man race that also included teammate Jose Martinez.  Kibiwott outdueled El Paso's Ricardo De Santiago with a winning time of 25 minutes, 6.16 seconds.  Martinez was slightly behind the top two, finishing third in 25:08.26.
 
Sophomore Cordaryl Whitehead turned in his best performance of the season, finishing sixth overall with a season best time of 25:27.32.  Colton Hollis, who finished eighth in 25:54.22, joined Whitehead in the top-10.
 
Michael Waller (26:20.74) was SPC's final scoring runner at 11th overall.
 
Sophomore Desreen Montague led the Lady Texans with a second place finish, crossing the line with a time of 19:21.30.
 
Atara Segree and J'Cee Holmes also finished in the top 10.  Segree (20:18.27) was sixth and Holmes (20:22.90) was not far behind in seventh.
 
Maddie Kauffman (21:09.08) and Brittany Letts (21:25.93) rounded out the team scoring with 12th and 14th place finishes, respectively.
 
Following three consecutive weeks of competition, the SPC cross country teams will enjoy a weekend away from competition before returning to action Saturday, Oct. 26 when the Texans and Lady Texans host the Region 5 cross country championship at Brashear Lake Park.  On Nov. 9, the cross country teams will travel to Fort Dodge, Iowa for the NJCAA cross country championships.